Thomas's pov

25 days remaining

"What the hell is this?" Dylan's mom asked as Dylan and I stumbled into the kitchen the following morning. The sun was peeking through the schere curtains, casting a soft dawn glow across the tiled floor. I wiped lazily at my eyes as I glanced around the room, my eyes landing on the round form of Mrs. O'Brien, one hand perched on her hip.

Dylan made his way over to the cabinets, briefly glancing at what his mother held. "Chicken liver? It was on the list."

"Chocolate slivers Dylan!" Mrs. O'Brien groaned. "I wrote chocolate slivers."

I fist pumped into the air as a triumphant smile burst onto my face. "I knew it!"

As Dylan began making us both tea, he spared a roll of his eyes in my direction. My smile only widened and I padded quietly over to where he stood. Leaning against the counter next to him, I pecked his forehead. Again he rolled his eyes, but the rosy blush on his cheeks was a clear indication that he was not at all irritated with me.

Dylan handed me a mug of the steaming liquid just as his mum spoke again, her voice laced in frustration. "I can't make the chocolate pudding without the chocolate slivers."

"Ask Julia to go out," Dylan shrugged at her halfheartedly. His eyes flicked back to mine as he leaned against the kitchen counters next to me asking, "Do you want breakfast?"

I glanced at the clock, noting that it was already past eleven, and nodded my head. He placed his mug down carefully and swept past me to the refrigerator, pulling out an egg carton. Holding the eggs up to me, he silently asked if I was okay with plain eggs for breakfast. I nodded again and grinned at the fact that we didn't even need to speak to know what the other was thinking anymore, then watched as Dylan quietly set to work. The whole affair felt entirely domestic.

Mrs. O'Brien mumbled some incoherent grumbles under her breath as she cursed out her incompetent son, before she rushed out of the kitchen. I watched her go with raised eyebrows but Dylan looked unfazed. Turning back to him, he was hunched over the stove, buttering up the pan so that the eggs wouldn't stick as they cooked.

"It's probably better if we stay out of her way until tonight," he said after a few moments. Still keeping his motions dedicated to our breakfast, he continued, "She's going to be crazy today."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Dylan sighed. "Everytime we have company over she automatically goes into psychopathic-cleaning-lady mode. She's like a fucking tornado. She will literally tear you apart if you don't get out of her way."

I shuddered at the image, but chose not to reply. Dylan's shoulders finally relaxed as he got the eggs cooking the way he pleased and he spun back towards me with a small smile. Biting his lip, he sat on top of the countertop, casually resting there as if it was were made for him.

And then something dawned on me.

"Is that my shirt?"

Dylan's eyes widened and he sheepishly smiled. "Sorry," he apologized, though I heard no sentiment in his tone. He blushed an intoxicating red.

I scoffed, shaking my head. Now that I had noticed, I couldn't help but recognize how fucking good he looked in my clothes. Seriously, god-like.

"It smells like you," Dylan offered as explanation, fiddling with the waist. He looked so adorable, like a little fucking puppy, that I couldn't bring myself to even wonder let alone care as to how he obtained my shirt to begin with. I wished I could burn the image of him like this into my brain forever.

"Is that a good thing?"

"A very good thing."

Dylan bit his lip, blinking so innocently that I actually had to brace myself on the counter across from him to prevent myself from accidentally pouncing on him. You know, accidentally.

The moment, however, was broken as soft footsteps were heard coming from the hallway. I looked over just as Julia entered the room, her hair pulled up into a messy ponytail. I really liked Julia; Dylan had said she was a big fan of mine, so I had been slightly worried that we would have an awkward relationship the whole time I stayed here. Luckily though, (with the exception of our first meeting) Julia seemed to have relaxed in my presence. Her sweatpants and tank top were evidence enough.

"Wow, Thomas," Julia said as she sagged into a kitchen chair, "Dylan never cooks. You must be pretty special."

My mouth turned upwards and I winked at her before turning back to my man. Dylan's cheeks had again flushed pink but he tried not to look bothered as he glared at his sister. I bit my lip as I unabashedly checked him out; he looked so calm, so carefree. He was slumped on the counter, my baggy t-shirt sliding off his shoulder to expose the softly tanned skin beneath. My stomach fluttered as he picked up his now lukewarm cup of tea, clutching it to him as if it could offer him protection. It was adorable, he was adorable.

With his hair still messed up from sleep, his clothes wrinkled and haphazard, and the cute little pout on his face, he was the vision of perfection.

I wanted to stare at him like this all day. To feel the way he made me feel. He was so undeniably attractive, both physically and characteristically, it made it truly hard not to like him. Not like that. I had already decided that liking him like that would only hurt both of us more in the end.

"Uh guys?! The eggs are burning!"

____________________________________________

The perfect morning gave way to a perfect night. The setting sun cast yellow light along the freshly preened grass, uninterrupted through the clear sky. A breeze curled through the trees and made the leaves shake, a soft song of natural descent. I breathed in the fresh, open air, so unlike any place I had ever lived, being either London or L.A., and smiled. Perhaps an artist could have captured the beauty of the burning sky, perhaps a movie producer could have recreated the laughs and interactions of Dylan's family, perhaps a composer could draw up a ballad as calming as the music of the wind. But the peaceful atmosphere, the warmth that radiated not from the sun but from my heart, the breaths of comfort and content passing from my lips, could never be replicated. The moments of placid serenity that descended on the yard were mine--passing seconds that would later be forgotten, but for now, were everything that I could ever want.

We had spent the day lounging around and relaxing, and I was thankful for that. I was still incredibly jet-lagged, and Dylan seemed to have realized that, so we spent the past few hours talking and swimming in his pool. It was simple. I loved that for once, my life wasn't complicated.

Now, with just an hour left before his family was due to arrive, Dyl and I crowded around his firepit, building a fire. He stood close to me the entire time, never touching, just brushing. It was tantalizing, his bare skin of his arm on mine. My entire body felt heated, but for all I knew, that might have been due to the roaring fire we made.

His family began to arrive just after seven. Dylan glanced up with a smile when his many aunts, uncles, and cousins began to trek their way through the patio doors, but he stayed perched dutifully at my side the entire time, watching the chaos that ensued.

Dylan had a big family--huge, actually, and it seemed as if they all intended on coming to visit today. At the sight of Dylan, whom I guess they hadn't seen since he left, each person came barreling over to scoop him up in their arms. It was quite amusing to watch, really. His aunts actually pinched his cheeks and his uncles shook his hand, pulling him in for a quick hug right after. They'd fuss and squeal and fire questions at him, but Dylan was relaxed as he smiled and greeted each one individually.

Everytime he introduced me to whoever he was talking to, I got the same surprised stare. With a lifted brow and a friendly smile, they'd offer a hand to shake and I always gladly accepted. I kind of liked the fact that Dylan didn't go around bragging to the whole world that we were dating, and that we got to tell people as we went; it was like we were a precious secret, hidden from the public eye. It was refreshing not to be seen as an object to show off, but as a person to be cherished.

Dylan's cousin, Sean, was one of the last people to come over to us. He had short spiky black hair and tanned skin, but didn't resemble Dylan in the slightest. Dressed in a cut-up t-shirt, black skinny jeans, and chains dangling from his neck, I got a rock n roll biker guy type of vibe. His smile was friendly though, so I relaxed as he approached.

"Hey, Dilly," he greeted, with a pat on Dylan's back. "Nice of you to finally come home."

Dylan chuckled and shrugged, poking the fire. "My mom was starting to miss me."

"Well, it's good to see your ugly face again," Sean grinned, his bright smile letting us know he was joking.

"Wish I could say the same to you," Dylan retorted with a roll of his eyes.

"Bastard."

Dylan snorted. "Good comeback. What are you, twelve?"

Sean smiled mischievously. "Yeah, twelve inches deep in your mom."

"Isn't that incest?" I couldn't help but interject. My nose scrunched up and Sean met my gaze with a laugh.

"Thomas Brodie-Sangster, right?" he asked, holding out a hand. "I'm Sean, but you can call me Mr. Steal-yo'-man."

I returned his smile with a laugh, carefully grasping his hand. His grip was a bit too firm for my liking, but it was otherwise friendly and inviting. I could feel the callouses etched into his palm. He was definitely the rocker type of guy.

"Now see, that depends," I replied, "Does that mean you'll be stealing me away from Dylan, or vice versa?"

Next to me, Dylan's eyes narrowed. He crossed his arms over his chest and all but glared at his cousin as if daring him to speak. Sean ignored him however, instead winking saucily at me.

"I'd definitely want you," he answered, his voice overly rambunctious and flirty. He spoke levelly to me and with a straight face but there was a twinkle in his eye that gave his amusement away.

Deciding I wanted to keep that cute little pout on Dylan's face, I said, "Well, in that case, I'd definitely let you steal me away."

Scoffing, Dylan immediately thumped me heavily on the chest. Startled (and wounded), I yelped out, "Agh! Abuse!"

He rolled his eyes at me and replied just as haughtily, "Yeah, animal abuse."

"Mmm, does that mean you get to ride me?" I smirked back.

"Not in a million years. Especially not after you've been flirting with my cousin."

Finally unable to hide my amusement any longer I laughed and pulled him into my arms, quickly pecking his lips. His glare stayed prominent on his face but he melted into me anyway, his shoulders relaxing, his spine arching back, his head nestling next to mine.

"Aw babe, you know I only have eyes for you," I said, angling my head to look at him. He pouted again, his lip jutting adorably out. Sean chuckled awkwardly across from us, shaking his head.

"You guys are disgustingly cute. If I didn't have a girlfriend, I'd be mad at you guys for making me feel lonely," Sean said.

"Yeah, well, I'm the perfect boyfriend, so..." I said, shrugging as if it was a hard job to maintain.

Sean smiled. "You sure seem like it. And sexy too."

Dylan coughed, drawing my attention back to him. We were only joking and he knew that, but there was still an undeniable glint of jealousy flitting through his warm brown eyes. He turned to glare at Sean, saying, "I'm going to steal back my perfect boyfriend now, please and thanks. I can't listen to anymore crappy flirting."

He was dragging me away from Sean and the fire before I could even say goodbye, so I waved back at the black-haired boy with an elfish grin on my face. Dylan's fingers wrapped protectively around my own and I wanted to laugh, but instead I asked, "Where are we going, Sir Jealousy?"

He didn't even bother denying it as he guided me through the crowd of his family and towards the back gate. His footsteps were heavy and hurried and I stumbled, trying to keep up. I bit my lip and dutifully followed behind him.

"I don't know. For a walk somewhere."

He opened the gate and left his backyard, leaving the laughter and cheers of his family behind us. We stretched out onto an uneven sidewalk and he kept pulling me along in silence. Slowly my smile began to fade when I noticed his tense shoulders, his clipped steps. Eyebrows furrowing, I pulled him to a stop, spinning him back towards me.

"You know I was only joking with Sean, right?" I asked carefully. He met my eyes and nodded, but there was reluctance clouding his usually cheerful persona. I hadn't meant for him to actually be hurt by Sean and I; I was just joking.

"'Course," Dylan said. His shoulders were still tense so I released his hand and moved both my arms to rub tenderly at the muscles of his shoulder blades, intending to relax him.

"I didn't mean to make you mad. I'm sorry. We were just fooling around."

Dylan's eyes flicked away towards the sidewalk. He sagged, subconsciously moving closer to me, and he sighed out quietly, "I know, I'm sorry...I'm just..."

"What?" I pushed, wrapping my arms loosely around his waist and pulling him closer.

Dylan's cheeks colored a light pink as he avoided my gaze, almost as if he was embarrassed. When he spoke his words were soft, hushed, hurried, carried away by the breeze. "I'm...paranoid, I guess."

"Paranoid? Why?" I thought maybe I had misheard him.

Dylan sighed, but his eyes finally met mine again. Insecurity shined prevalently in his scared expression as he muttered, "You know my ex we met yesterday? Caleb?"

"Yeah...?"

"Well, I kind of...lied to you," Dylan started and my hands tightened instinctively on his waist. "I said--I said he didn't affect me anymore. And he doesn't, not really." Dylan's brow crinkled together, reflecting the confusion I was feeling as well. He tried again, "It's not like I cry myself to sleep over him. It's just, I trusted him. I trusted him a lot, and then he cheated on me."

"I understand, Dylan," I replied, placing a chaste kiss to the tip of his noise. Because I did understand. I understood perfectly well what he was trying to say. I didn't say anymore than that though. I couldn't mutter the words he wanted me to say. You can trust me. Everything about that statement was a lie, a lie that would surely cut him to pieces and rip him apart, leave him begging for mercy, pleading for the truth. He couldn't trust me. He shouldn't trust me.

My thoughts were carrying me a million miles away and I allowed them, just as I let the guilt settle in my gut again. It was a horrifying feeling; the self-loathing that wracked at my brain, the fear that clenched at my heart. I was tumbling down, down, down into the deepest pits of Hell and yet I wasn't doing anything to stop myself from falling.

"So, I'm--" Dylan's voice wavered, grounding me to him again, "I'm trying to trust you. Not just you, actually--everyone. I'm trying to learn how to give out my heart again, but I was way too careless with it before. I'm scared, Tommy. And well, it's difficult when...," he trailed off, afraid. I pulled back just slightly, now feeling concerned.

"When?"

"When you look exactly like Caleb."

I blinked dumbly when the words rushed out of his mouth, tripping over each other in their haste. I stiffened for a brief moment, and then everything was crashing down on me, a spiral of realization. No wonder Caleb looked familiar; we did look extremely similar. I thought back to last night and almost cringed at how obvious it was. The same strawberry blond hair, frown, lean frame. He was basically my doppelganger, and I hadn't even realized.

I stepped back from Dylan and my arms dropped, my mouth falling open. I tried to hide the hurt on my face, tried not to even be hurt in the first place, but it just stung a little, knowing I shared not only a guilty conscience with Caleb, but a face too. And another thing; obviously Dylan had a type, but was he falling for me only because I shared a similar look to his ex-boyfriend?

Why do I even care?

"Hey, no--don't overthink it, Thomas. I do trust you now, it was just hard in the beginning," Dylan said quickly, his tone bordering on frantic. Maybe he had seen the panic in my eyes. Maybe he thought he was the one at fault.

I shook my head, confused and unable to speak, so he continued, "I didn't even realize at first. Subconsciously, though, I guess I did. I saw you, and I knew how Caleb had hurt me, and I guess--I don't know--I just decided I hated you before I even met you."

I stepped back again, not trying to distance myself from Dylan, but to clear my head. Dylan misinterpreted the action however, rushing forward to grab at my hand.

"Hey, I--I'm sorry--I didn't--" he apologized.

I floundered for words and finally managed, "You don't have to be sorry, Dyl. You didn't do anything wrong."

My words were so soft, almost as gentle as he had been before. He looked down at me with uncertainty and worse, fear, as if waiting for me to snap, so I grabbed at his face with a relaxed hand and brushed my palm along the curve of his jaw. He relaxed at the intimate gesture.

"You don't have anything to apologize for," I repeated. "I'm just glad you trust me now. That's all I need."

"I do," he breathed, "I do trust you."

We didn't care that we were standing in the middle of the sidewalk, out on display for the whole world to see. My fingers traced his cheekbones lightly, almost timidly, and he gazed down on me with an avid intensity. I swallowed roughly and pulled him down towards me.

Our lips met and it was just as good as all of our other kisses, but this time there was something else. Something fervent in our careful touches, the way we treaded around each other with utmost care, and it heightened all of my sense until I felt like my entire body was being seized with fire. I blazed and kissed him earnestly and he pushed back just as softly as we moved in complete and utter synchronization. There was just something so different, so caring about this kiss--like we were losing ourselves within each other, kissing the world away.

When Dylan finally pulled away, his eyes flicked up towards the sky. He gasped and spun me around by my waist, pointing upwards quickly.

I blinked slowly and realized I hadn't even noticed that the sun had set while we were talking, and it was dark. I was too wrapped up in Dylan to pay attention to anything going on around me.

"Make a wish," Dylan whispered, his lips brushing the side of my neck. My eyes dimly recognized the fading remnants of a shooting star painted across the darkened sky. I spun back towards him, wrapping my arms around his neck. His head tilted just slightly until we were just a hair's breath away.

"I don't have to," I whispered finally, my lips brushing his. "I already have everything I want."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

It was hours later and Dylan and I had returned to the party long ago. Pitch-black darkness had descended on the scene, successfully stifling the milling crowd from before. After Dylan and I mingled with his family for a bit (if I heard one more person tell me how adorable I am I'm actually going to hit something), we, along with everyone else, sprawled ourselves on blankets for the main event of the night: the meteor shower.

It was chilly, the ground was hard, and most of the time we spent staring at the sky without any meteors passing by. Despite all that, however, I was perfectly content laying there on the ground with Dylan curled around me. Our legs lay intertwined and his palm rubbed circles absentmindedly into my own, and my heart raced and felt settled all at once. Though I should have been watching the sky, knowing how quickly shooting-stars came and went, I found myself staring solely at Dylan. It was hard to really see him in the sparse light, but the faint lines of his features were still enough to satisfy me.

We laid in silence for quite a while, Dylan's eyes trained devotedly on the sky, mine resting on him. Every time a meteor shot by, Dylan's face lit up in excitement, and he would point at it, whispering "look, tommy, look!" while I softly smiled and replied, "beautiful, dyl"--except, I never actually glanced up to watch the meteor pass.

An hour might have passed, maybe even two, and it was full of cheesy compliments and super sweet words that honestly would have made me gag not three months ago; but things were different now, I was different now, so the sweet-nothings and quick kisses only made my heart swell. Dylan and I reminisced for a bit about the last time we spent laying under the stars, back in Baton Rouge with the rest of the cast. Though it had been horrifying finding that we had cuddled back then, looking back, the situation was extremely comical.

Then, as if all of a sudden, Dylan rolled over onto his side to look at me. His eyes scanned my face in the dark, searching, looking, reading me. I thought maybe that that was how we were going to stay; face to face, not uttering a word. I was too afraid to speak. I was afraid of what might come out.

"You're a night sky," Dylan suddenly said, breaking our code of silence. His voice was unbearably soft. Looking up at me through his lashes, he timidly gauged my reaction.

"What does that mean?" I asked with a furrowed brow. I lowered my own voice to match his own careful pitch.

"Look," Dylan started as he rolled over onto his back again, raising a hand to point at the sky above. "Look at the stars. What do you see?"

Rolling over too, I paused for a moment to look at the inky black sky above. When I saw nothing out of the ordinary, I muttered, "I see...stars...the moon...is that venus?...uh..."

Dylan smiled a little. As he spoke again, his words articulate and pure, I found myself leaning on his every word. I cherished every sentence that slipped past his lips. He never let his brown eyes stray from the sight above him though, oblivious to my captivated expression.

"I see a mystery. I see the unknown. I see a place that terrifies the living hell out of me, but I see a place that offers hope and refuge. I see beauty and life and late night secrets. I see something extraordinary," he paused, turning to look at me. Then continued softer, if possible,"you're my night sky."

He bit his lip as if he expected me to laugh at him. Keeping my face neutral, I glanced up at the sky again, his words swirling in my mind. His breath on my neck made it difficult to focus, but I did, letting the painted canvas scattered with stars tell me stories that I had never heard before.

Each star twinkled softly above us--dancing almost, in the music of the soft breaths and escaped laughter of Dylan's family--and for a second, I sat in awe. My eyes drifted to absorb the inky blackness that held so many secrets, so many unknown worlds. It was hard not to feel small when the whole universe was on display right in front of me. Beautiful though it was, however, I found myself returning my gaze to the boy still sprawled out next to me.

Dylan was right. The night sky was extraordinary.

Despite that, it looked rather ordinary in comparison to the boy waiting breathlessly for my reply.

"Dylan?"

"Yeah?"

"You're not just my night sky; you're my universe."

A goofy grin broke out across his face as if those were the exact words he desperately wanted to hear. He leaned over and put his head on my chest, cuddling contently into my side. My body was on fire wherever he touched me, and yet, I was calm. I was at peace. I looked up again.

There was the sky, still its own beautiful enigma, waiting to be unraveled by mankind. It was clear, calm, a vision of absolute certainty, despite all of its secrets. I would never be able to look at it the same again.

There were the stars, singing their own songs and casting their own stories to highlight our own. Enchantingly constant, for the time being at least, glimmering with the confidence of magic.

And there we were, Dylan and I, falling in love beneath the moonlight--even if I was too afraid to admit it.

//

A/N

over 50k reads can I get a whoop whoop

So i'm thinking about doing shorter updates (like 1-2 thousands words a piece) for the next couple chapters to show bits and pieces of their trip together. this would mean updates would hopefully come a lot faster, but they'd likely have a lot less going on....idk what do y'all think?

anywho, ;)

that's all I'm sayin, friends

until next time,

//sam\\